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Lost in the filter media rabbithole

refrigerator

refrigerator

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14 Mar 2024
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Hi guys, setting up my first planted tank and I've gone down the rabbithole of filter media...

  1. Initially I trusted Green Aqua's (and others) recommendation of maxing out on Seachem Matrix.
  2. Then I found https://aquariumscience.org who made a very compelling case against Matrix and in favour of 30ppi foam or pot scrubbers and I was pretty much sold on that (table below)
  3. But today I read somewhere that the plastic K1 stuff that came with my filter actually moves around in the filter, and it seems like this "fluidised K1" setup might beat all other options (according to aquariumscience.org)
  4. I've also read in a few places that there's no point getting any fine filter mesh for mechanical filtration, since that stuff will get caught by the bigger foam eventually.

So my specific questions:

  1. I found Aquarium Science – The Science of Aquariums very compelling and will probably go with pot scrubbers and foam instead of Matrix. Is there a reason I should be skeptical of the advice on this site?
  2. Is it really true that K1 in an Oase Biomaster tray will move around to create a quasi-moving-bed-filter? And if so, should I just be going for more of those?
  3. The Biomaster comes with a mix of 30ppi and 20ppi foam. Should I get a finer one for smaller particles or not?

Thanks!

7.1.4.-filter-biomedia-efficiency-8b.jpg
 
refrigerator said:
  1. I found Aquarium Science – The Science of Aquariums very compelling and will probably go with pot scrubbers and foam instead of Matrix. Is there a reason I should be skeptical of the advice on this site?
  2. Is it really true that K1 in an Oase Biomaster tray will move around to create a quasi-moving-bed-filter? And if so, should I just be going for more of those?
  3. The Biomaster comes with a mix of 30ppi and 20ppi foam. Should I get a finer one for smaller particles or not?
Click to expand...
Hi @refrigerator. Welcome to UKAPS!

My responses to your questions above:
  1. I have found and followed AS filtration advice and found it very effective in my Oase Biomasters.
  2. Although you can remove the mesh bag and let the HELX-13 move around, there is not going to be that much force to create a moving bed filter. Whether in the bag or moving freely it will do the same job. (I have mine moving freely in the bottom tray).
  3. Stick with the media supplied, and use the 45PPI pre-filter sponges to filter out larger particulates. The media will do just fine as sold.
 
The only thing I find a bit strange about Biomaster loading is that the flow goes through fine *45ppi pre-filter first, then hard plastic “bio media” (I know the foams are also bio media) then it goes through coarse foam and then through a finer foam again? Anyone else find this odd? * Yes, I know there are other options but as supplied mine had the fine foam.

In the early days of canister filters the manufacturers recommended filter floss as the final layer which meant once it got clogged so did everything else below it. Being at the top though it was easy to swap out.

I’d like to see a graphic representation of all the different manufacturers current recommendations.
 
This configuration could make sense if you consider that the filter itself generates particles of biofilm and whatnot that could be released from the coarser sponges and then be trapped in the final stage. The pre-filter would be responsible for the collection of dirt from the atual tank.
 
First planted tank - cool! Hope you will start a journal over in the Journals thread.

My thought would be that the simplest and most effective approach would be foam (20 - 30ppm plus a 'pre-filter' sponge on the intake)... and plants.

I could watch K1 fluidising all day long but I think you would need more of it and have it properly fluidising to match what you will be getting from the foams. I have seen some cool sump K1 setups (but no practical experience of same). The smaller soda bottle fluidisers have barely any K1 media in them, it seems to me.

Looking forward to seeing what you do with your tank (and filtration).
 
I have a Oase Biomaster 600, running for nearly 6 months now. I took it apart the other day, and was impressed by the way that the main filter media hadn't clogged; the prefilter works well if you clean it regularly.

I've been keeping aquariums of all sorts since the 1970s, when filters were driven by donkeys and windmills, and my conclusions are that Bradders advice above is spot-on.
 
Okay great, thanks everyone — will run the filter with the media that came with it, and leave my 4 litres of Seachem Matrix unopened 😂

@LFNfan didn't know about the Journals thread — sounds great!
 
refrigerator said:
Okay great, thanks everyone — will run the filter with the media that came with it, and leave my 4 litres of Seachem Matrix unopened 😂

@LFNfan didn't know about the Journals thread — sounds great!
Click to expand...
Seachem matrix is just fine as well, you could easily use that if you want to. I find that filter media is filter media, so just use whatever you think will last longest and be the least hassle to clean.
 
Hi all,
Knuta said:
I find that filter media is filter media, so just use whatever you think will last longest and be the least hassle to clean.
Click to expand...
That would be the general finding on this forum <"Is expensive bio media worth it?">.

As planted tank keepers we have the advantages of:
This means we aren't interested in the denitrification of nitrate (NO3-) <"in the filter">, because we have:
  • the potential for denitrification in the fluctuating zones of REDOX in the rhizosphere , and
  • plants to take up all forms of fixed nitrogen.
cheers Darrel
 
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One issue though is flow through the filter. Someone on here was carefully stacking their ceramic or glass tubes vertically, perhaps to maximise flow?
 
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